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During our youth, we are told to take calcium supplements to help to strengthen our bone density. Most of us blow off the advice. Many seniors struggle with osteoporosis, which comes along with muscle loss and bone density issues. Diet and exercise programs play a huge role in your muscle and bone density. To maintain bone density and muscle when you are elderly, here are some suggestions to follow:

A balanced diet and exercise helps maintain healthy living.

Diet
A lot of seniors struggle with eating nutritious foods. Perhaps this is caused from living alone, or living with just a spouse and you no longer have the need to make a large meal to feed an entire family. To make sure you are getting plenty of protein, calcium, and other essential nutrients, you should start introducing shakes and meal supplements into your diet. Enhance your diet with different shakes, powders, and juice drinks you can consume to make sure you are getting enough calcium and protein in your diet.

Drinking at least 1-2 glasses of milk each day will provide you with plenty of calcium that will be distributed to your muscles and your bones. Calcium supplements are another good idea to help you get all of the calcium you need and to help you replenish your bone density, which may have been lost due to poor diet and lack of exercise. If you do not like to take supplements or drink milk, try eating pudding that includes calcium: This provides you with 25% of your daily calcium needs and it will help to replenish your bone density.

Increase your intake of vegetables and fruits. Vegetables and fruits contain several nutrients that are necessary for the body to function properly. Deep green vegetables and brightly colored fruits contain vitamins that can prevent you from getting ill. When elderly patients become ill, many of them do not continue to exercise, and over time they stop exercising altogether, thereby reducing their quality of life.

Exercise
You can increase your bone density by approximately 1% if you exercise each day for at least one year. You need to participate in strength training exercises at least 2 days a week in order to strengthen your bone density. Strength training exercises will not only strengthen your bone density, they will help to improve your muscles as well.

Some exercises you can do include lifting 3-5 pound weights each day. Yoga is a great strength training exercise, as it focuses on building your core muscles and improving your bones. Doing yoga 2-3 days per week will greatly improve your muscles and it will actually reduce stress and tension that you may be feeling.

Strength training helps build muscles and improves bone density.

Several research programs have shown that daily exercise will help to decrease your risk of osteoporosis. It will also help you maintain proper balance as the body is stronger and healthier. The joints are also stronger and these small exercise steps can help to prevent falls which could lead to broken legs, hips, and other bones.

Exercise helps to aid in the placement of calcium in the bones and muscles. What types of exercises are safe for elderly patients? There are a number of exercise routines you can use, the trick is to tone down your intensity level a little bit so you don’t work the muscles and joints too hard. Aerobic exercise is important for the cardiovascular system. Do aerobic activity at least 2-3 days per week for about 15-30 minutes. Brisk walking, swimming, and biking are wonderful aerobic activities you can do that will strengthen the bones and muscles. On the days in between aerobic activity, do some strength training exercises like toning cords or weight lifting.

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About The CareGiver Partnership. The CareGiver Partnership helps caregivers and their loved ones with answers to their caregiving questions, including information about home health care products and supplies, from our Wisconsin-based team of Product Specialists who are all current or former caregivers. The company’s Web site provides the largest online library of resources on subjects most important to caregivers — from arthritis to assisted living, and Parkinson’s to prostate cancer — as well as access to more than 3,000 home care products for incontinence, skin care, mobility, home safety and daily living aids. The CareGiver Partnership was founded in 2004 by Lynn Wilson of Neenah, Wisc. Visit http://www.caregiverpartnership.com to learn more or call 1-800-985-1353.